Werewolf Facts

Famous Werewolves: Hans the Werewolf

The trial of 'Hans the Werewolf' is often pointed to in order to demonstrate the tendency of the courts to charge individuals for both werewolf transformations and witchcraft.

In the year 1651, young Hans was brought before his city's court and charged with being a werewolf. He was questioned so the court could determine the seriousness of the offense and was said to have given up valuable information.

Hans claimed that he had received a wolf's skin from a strange man in black and had used it to hunt for two years. He confirmed that he was actually able to transform into a wolf instead of merely entering the wolf's body which the court decided was 'magical transformation.'

The court also became convinced that the man in black was the devil, which meant Hans was guilty of both witchcraft and werewolf transformation. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Hans the Werewolf was an alleged Estonian werewolf and a witch. His trial was conducted for being a werewolf, and he was convicted of wizardry. He was produced at court at the age of 18, and when asked about his being a werewolf, he affirmed it. He was then asked if his transformation was physical or only spiritual. He said that he had the bite scar of a dog on his leg when he was a werewolf. He further confessed that he was transformed into a werewolf by a man in black and felt like being a beast and not a human being. The court concluded that the man in black was a devil and put him on a witch's trial. He was later convicted of witchcraft.

It was in 1651, when Hans was only 18 years old, that he was brought forth before the court in Idavare, on the grounds of being a werewolf. Hans' trial didn't last very long. He confessed immediately that he had been hunting in werewolf form for the past two years. Hans also told the court that he had been doing so ever since being bitten two years ago by a man dressed in black who, he soon found out, was a werewolf.

The judge asked him whether he felt more like man or animal and Hans replied that he felt like a "wild beast." The judge also asked Hans whether he felt more like man or animal while he was in the midst of a transformation and Hans replied that he felt like a "wild beast." The judge then asked Hans whether he felt as though it was just his soul that transformed, or whether or complete physical transformation took place as well. Hans replied that he still had the scar where a dog bit him while he was in wolf form, indicating that it was a full physical change and not just a metaphysical one on Hans' part.

The court ruled Hans guilty of being a werewolf for a number of reasons. The first was that, because an actual physical change took place, Hans had actually had magic performed on him, which was considered to be Satanic. The courts also thought that the man dressed in black that Hans had described could only have been Satan performing the black magic. Because of these things, Hans was declared to be a werewolf and like so many other werewolves at the time, was sentenced to death.